JHA in Media

You can download this press release as a PDF in English or Russian.

On 9 December 2016 the Swiss Federal Council reported that they had decided to extend the freezing of all the assets in Switzerland of President Yanukovych, as well as of other Ukrainian individuals allegedly associated with him. Amongst other things, the report asserted that “assets amounting to approximately CHF 70 million are involved” (without saying precisely to whom these assets might belong). Many reports in the Ukrainian media had mistakenly attributed this entire amount as belonging to Viktor Yanukovych.

As a result of the intervention of Joseph Hage Aaronson LLP representing President Yanukovych and his son, Oleksandr Yanukovych, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in its letter of 8 February 2017 confirmed that the figure of CHF 70 million is an estimate of the sum total of assets of over 20 individuals listed in the relevant Swiss Ordinance that have been frozen. They have also confirmed that the press release of 9 December 2016 does not comment on assets belonging to President Yanukovych or Oleksandr Yanukovych individually.

President Yanukovych and Oleksandr Yanukovych contend that they have no bank accounts or money or other assets in Switzerland, other than Oleksandr Yanukovych’s company Mako Trading SA, which has around CHF 1 million in its account in Switzerland, and that account is transparent and audited. The Swiss authorities have not confirmed the existence of any other assets owned by either President Yanukovych or Oleksandr Yanukovych in Switzerland.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Joseph Hage Aaronson LLP is a law firm based in London:

www.jha.com